Dead Ends

Most of us find certain points in our life’s journey where we face what can seem like an impossible decision. A damned if you do, damned if you don’t scenario. These can be so prominent in our life that they define who we are and a before and after point.

Some say that such difficulties are chosen by us as karmic challenges we have to face until we get the lesson and make the right choice. The difficulty is that karma itself tends to bring with it a blind spot so we can’t see the situation clearly. (held karma is resistance, resistance impedes awareness)

But the decisions are never as absolute as they seem.

For one, once the choice is made the situation resolves itself as intended. One might refer to the difficulty facing Arjuna on the battlefield in the Bhagavad Gita. He found friends and relatives on both sides of the battle lines. Until he saw the bigger picture, fighting seemed a great evil.

If we also remember the deeper process of self knowing itself more completely through us, we discover time is not such a linear forking road as we might think. For example, in my own life, I discovered that one section of it, including career and relationship, was the resolution of the other choice I didn’t make when faced with such a decision in a prior life. in other words, I lived out both choices.

Whatever choices we make are brought into balance over time as the universe perpetually seeks resolution and equilibrium.

On occasion, when faced with an apparently impossible decision or overwhelmed by emotion, someone may choose suicide. I recall going to talk by Charlie Lutes in the late ’70’s. He was a curious mixture of Maharishi Mahesh Yogis teachings, those of Theosophy, and his own experiences, blended in a unique way.

Afterward, a friend of mine approached him to ask about her former boyfriends suicide. Charlie said that when someone takes their life, they’re left in a kind of limbo. It’s too early to move on to their next assignment but they no longer have the vehicle to complete this one. They’re essentially obliged to stick around and wait until it’s their turn, then do it again.

I would say this is broadly the case but each individual persons journey is unique. If they’ve made some spiritual progress, they may not be left without means. And we certainly are not abandoned, if there is any such impression. More that it’s usually a rather poor choice and not really a good alternate. Any hellishness is only in facing what one has done. We can’t escape a rough road by parking.

If we understand the bigger picture better, we will see that even the most difficult decisions are only difficult because of our limited perception. In the bigger scheme of things, everything is OK and will work out for the best. As Dan mentioned in his sandbox analogy, “we are all here in this Creation like children playing in [a] giant sandbox. What if the child makes a mistake? Does it matter?”

Life is a curious journey indeed. But the main point here is to have fun. We’re on an adventure, an exploration into the deepest corners of our being. What could be more fun than that?
Davidya